Enclosure Question (from a Newbie)

[Vasiliki]

Currently doing my research, as I am planning to acquire two hatchlings in 2012 from a local breeder. It’ll be my first time with snakes, although I’ve admired them from afar for years now. Originally I was hoping to get into Corns, but then I was handed a ball python by a local breeder to hold and it's been them ever since.

Spoke with my other half and we’ll be planning to get two. No plans to breed, and no plans to get more than those two. As such, we’re saving up our pennies and getting two morphs that we’ll both enjoy.

However, as I do my research, I grew curious about something. We are going to be getting young bps. When I started investigating what kind of environment to set up for them, I was faced with a curiosity. I don’t normally question the advice of people who’ve been doing it for so long, but I couldn’t help but tilt my head at this.

Since we will be limited for space for a few years, I wanted to keep them in tubs for the moment. However, I was told that young snakes often feel insecure with large amounts of space. Okay, that makes sense. An animal that is young and small would want to hide rather than risk getting eaten by predators. So I was told to invest in a smaller environment and upgrade as they get bigger. Sure, I understand that’s a financial investment and I will happily take that on.

But my question is, if too much space in a large enclosure makes them feel insecure, then how do ball pythons manage in the wild? There is unlimited space for them to be in there, naturally. Is it just a question, then, of having items around to promote security? In that case, would it be possible to invest in a larger set-up sooner and simply add items to ‘occupy’ said space within that enclosure?

I don’t have a problem with starting small and working my way up. It just made me curious, simply because there is much more space in their natural habitat than I can provide in my care. So, then, is it a matter if simply creating ‘less open space’, rather than the size of the tub in general? Meaning, if I were to add something to occupy an area of the enclosure, would that not, then, reduce the ‘open space’?

Hopefully this isn’t a ridiculous question.

Also: Hello :-)! I'm new to the forums, ha ha. Although I've been reading plenty as a 'guest'

[decensored]

hey there,

Welcome.

I don't have a definitive answer for you but if I had to guess I imagine it would have a lot to do with where they live. There is a ton of foliage and debris around their natural habitats to hide them as they move. In a tub its kind of hard to duplicate this. In an enclosure such as a tank or a PVC you can keep a hatchling in a larger enclosure as long as you fill it with plants and objects. They do fine this way.

hope this helped.

Cheers.

[BFT12890]

First, welcome to BP.Net

I myself am not an expert, but ill do what i can to help answer your question.

As far as space in the wild as opposed to captivity, Snakes in the wild are forced to deal with the surrounding they are dealt, I believe its more additional security that you offer by starting small, which also helps in keeping stress down to allow the snake to feel more comfortable with eating and all.

With adding more stuff to the enclosure, you basically screw yourself. The more you add, the more you have to buy/maintain/clean ect. Your best bet if you want to start big so you dont have to continually upgrade, is to use a divider in the enclosure to make it smaller (one that is not clear, because that wont really give the desired effect.) Just make sure you set to heat/humidity to the sectioned off part and not to the whole enclosure, because the part with the snake will more then likely not get proper heat/humidity

Lastly, since your new to the site, and to ball pythons, if you havent already I recommend looking through the Ball Python Caresheet , it helped me alot, so I like to recommend it to everyone

EDIT: This is also my opinion/advice, that by no means makes it correct or something to live by, hopefully some of the more knowledgeable folks will chime in.

[RestlessRobie]

That is corect you can put a small snake in a large enclosure if you do it correctly. LOTS of stuff for them to hide in and around several peices of drift wood and plants for them to be under and in. But this set up is a nightmare to clean and maintain so the easiest and best for the snake is a small tub or tanks with 2 hides and just a few items for your pleasure. In the wild baby snakes are food for other snakes so if you don't get the large enclosure correct then your snake may not eat, have dificult shed, and develop RI or other problems due to the stress. This is why most people, myself included recomend small enclosures for smaller snakes and work your way up. Tubs are cheap and at worst you can just use the lid for the tub in a larger rack and place the smaller tub partially on the heat source until the advance to the larger tubs. Hope this helps and feel free to ask more questions


Guess I type to slow